


The Legend of the Hero of Light

by Darkstarmie



Category: Original Work
Genre: Fantasy, Magic, Original Fiction, Original Universe
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-03
Updated: 2015-07-03
Packaged: 2018-04-07 12:18:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4263030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darkstarmie/pseuds/Darkstarmie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This is an original fantasy story of two boys and their journey through many kingdoms filled with chaos and magic. Slightly inspired by the Fire Emblem series.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prolouge

It was a small town called Folesta in the kingdom of Kato. Kato was one of the kingdoms in the land of Alain. The two young boys sat in their guardian’s small house while listening to the crackle of the fire, as they often did. Callem, a boy of sixteen who was about average height with dark brown hair, blue eyes and thick eyebrows. He was a very handsome young man with large muscles and a handsome face. The ladies of the town often swooned for him, not that he was ever interested in any of them. And Aris, a boy of seventeen with dirty blonde hair, brown eyes and thin eyebrows. He was tall and very thin, he was not bad looking but he was never as attractive as Callem. This never really bothered him because he didn’t care for girls much either. He was often just studying or reading.

They had been laying there on the floor for about an hour waiting for their guardian to return. The house was small for three people to live in. Although it once housed four people, until Callem’s father passed away. 

The house had four rooms. There were two bedrooms, one for Callem and Aris, and the other for their guardian Zana. Both rooms merely had sacks of hay for beds, a few books and a couple candles. There was one room in the middle of the house that contained a fireplace, a table, four chairs, a small beat-up rug the color of a rotten apple, and many shelves filled with books. These books were a large source of entertainment and knowledge for the two boys. Some of these books were filled with stories of great adventures and journeys, others were magical tomes, and some were recipe books for making medicine out of plants. The last room was merely a storage room for Zana’s tools and medicine. 

Zana was Callem’s father’s old friend. Callem’s father, Valm, had lived in this town with Callem as long as he could remember. Throughout his entire childhood, Callem remembers living in a house similar to this one a little ways down the road. He and his father had lived there together for ten years. Then they moved in with Zana so that he would not be alone at his age. Callem doesn’t remember his mother, and all Valm would say of her before he died was that she was the most beautiful woman ever. Valm would never really talk about his wife very much, in fact the only things Callem knew about his mother was that she was beautiful and that she died in a fire before Callem was old enough to remember her. 

When Callem was five, he remembers there being a knock on the door. When his father opened it, there was a boy standing there. The boy’s name was Aris and he said that he couldn’t remember where he was or how he got there. All he knew was that he was six years old and that he was able to make fire without wood. So Valm took the boy in and raised him as Callem’s brother. The two boys have been friends ever since. 

Aris was not an ordinary boy though. He was always abnormally tall for his age and he had long pointed ears. Valm took Aris to Zana to see if he knew what was wrong with him. Zana replied that there was nothing wrong with the boy he was merely not human. Aris was an elf. This was why Aris was able to make fire without wood. Aris was magic. The elves had always been known for their magical capabilities. However, the people of the town did not take kindly to anyone who possessed magical powers because many years ago an evil sorcerer destroyed half the town with his magical control of fire. 

So to protect Aris from being killed by the town’s people, Zana (who had magical powers himself) forged Aris a magical pendant that would allow him to look like a human. It made his eyes turn from bright gold to dark brown, his hair from a pale white to a dirty blonde, and his ears were short and flat. However, it also greatly limited his mass of magical power. Aris was only able to take off his pendant while Zana trained him in the magical arts or when the two boys were alone in the woods. They often went in the woods so that Aris could take off his pendant and so that they could speak in private. Eleven years have passed since that day.

The fire began to go out when Aris stood up to put another log on the fire. Callem started to tap on the floor impatiently.

“When did he say he was coming back?” Callem said while sitting up.

“He said that he would return before the sun went down. You just need to be more patient,” Aris replied. “And stop with the tapping, it’s irritating me.”

“Can we at least go to the forest?” Callem moaned while plopping back down. “I can practice with my sword and you can take off your pendant and practice your magic.” 

Aris pondered the idea for a moment. “No, Zana told us to wait here,” Aris finally replied.

Callem moaned again and stood up. He started walking towards the bookshelf and picked the book that he always did. It was a book of his father’s. His father used to read him stories from this book. He opened it to one of his favorites. It was the story of how the great warrior defeated the large snake. He had read that particular story over a hundred times. But it reminded him of his father. So he always enjoyed reading it again. Callem also had his father’s old sword. It was a beautiful sword and had a full moon with a feather in the center on the hilt. The moon had a single flame glowing behind it. He keeps it safe under some floorboards in his room wrapped in cloth.

Aris had also taken a book off the shelf; it was one of his magical tomes. The boys sat there for another half hour reading silently. Then Zana came walking though the front door, he was surprisingly nimble and quick for his age. He had gray hair that went to his shoulder and was often smiling. He had on his usual black cloak.

“Aris, I’ve got the ingredients for the potion you wanted to learn how to make,” Zana said while putting his bags on the table. “Come and put some water in the pot over the fire while I start grinding the ginger. Then start to dice up the lily petals while I…”

“Uh, actually Zanna,” Callem interjected. “Aris and I wanted to go to the forest for the rest of the afternoon.” Callem had a big grin on his face and was trying to look disappointed, like if they couldn’t go that he would be sad for the rest of the night.

“Well… fine alright you two can go. Just make sure you’re back no later than an hour after sunset. Aris and I need many hours to make this potion,” He said to them abruptly and as fatherly as he could. But they were both already putting on their cloaks, getting their swords, Aris was hiding a few tomes under his cloak, and they were off. 

It takes them less than fifteen minutes for them to go to their own spot in the woods. A small clearing where the sun shines directly on them at noon. There was a small pond off the side where they often catch toads and frogs for different potions. There is a small patch of flowers and plants next to it that they gather for Zana’s apothecary. There is also a large oak tree across from the pong; the boys use the roots for seats.

Both boys draw their swords and stand across from each other in the middle of the clearing. Callem is without a doubt the superior sword fighter, but he is trying to train Aris with a sword incase Aris had to defend the town and couldn’t use his magic. He tries training Aris like his father trained him, by performing an attack on him and seeing if Aris could match it. Aris was no sword fighter though; it just didn’t come as easily to him as it did to Callem. 

“Alright, watch my arm and my sword,” Callem said before swiping decisively at Aris’s legs. They were using their practice swords so that Aris wouldn’t get hurt. Aris tried to avoid it, but Callem was too fast for Aris and struck his shins.

“AH!” Aris yelled as he stumbles back. 

“Alright, now you try,” Callem said calmly. 

Aris tried to hit Callem’s shins with the sword as Callem did to him, but Callem jumped back in time and getting off balance, Aris fell forward.

“Well… it was better than when you ended up hitting yourself,” Callem said while trying to hold back a chuckle. 

“You wouldn’t be laughing if I had my amulet off right now,” Aris said through gritted teeth. 

Callem stopped laughing and sounded calm and was trying to sound helpful, “Okay, just try to swing faster and don’t try to swing your sword back before you strike. It gives away your attack.”

They went on doing this for another hour or so, then it was nearing sunset. The boys put away the swords, Aris took off his amulet and took out one of his thunder tomes. The boys spent the next half hour watching Aris’s magical thunderbolts fly through the trees. Then it was time to head home.

“How did practice go Aris?” Zana asked when the boys returned.  
“I was able to produce many bolts of lightning and send them flying accurately through branches with ease,” Aris said avoiding the real question. Zana gave him a look saying that Aris knew what he really meant. “I was able to swipe Callem in the legs eventually,” he finally said with annoyance.

“Well,” Zana said sounding slightly disappointed, “you should try to do better next time. If this town is ever in trouble, people are going to look to you to protect them, you know. And you can’t use your magic or they will kill you themselves.”

“I know,” Aris said with slight irritation. “Can we just make the potion now?”

Zana gave Aris a disapproving look, and then gave him the lily petals and a knife. They both started working on preparing the ingredients for the potion. Callem sat in front of the fire for a while with his book and eventually went to his room and lay on his pile of hay. He fell asleep thinking of his father, as he most often did.


	2. Fire Fight

Callem woke up early in the morning, which is odd for him. He is usually the last one to wake in the house. But Callem realizes it makes sense considering Aris and Zana were up most of the night working on the sleeping potion that Aris wanted to learn how to make. Since he is up so early, Callem decides to make a trip to town and buy some eggs from the town’s market. While he’s there he also decides to buy a pound of butter and flour. He felt like he could afford it considering he took two extra shifts at the town watch a week ago. 

About to head back to town, he hears a commotion. He runs towards the center of the market place to see what’s going on. When he gets there, he sees two men hassling one of the shopkeepers. One had the face of a rat and was about the size of one too compared to his companion, who had a scar over his left eye. Normally, Callem would know to walk away and keep his mouth shut. Ruffians are a normal occurrence in town. The nearest royal knight keep is a day’s travel North. They have the town watch, but it’s mostly men in their forties or in their teens that only do it to get extra money. This time however, they were trying to take an old woman’s bread and cheese that she made. Callem couldn’t let them bother a defenseless old woman with no repercussion. 

“Why don’t you move those tired ass bones and give us that damn food!” the larger of the two men said to the woman.

“Please sir,” she replied feebly, “I have such little of it, please just leave me be.”

“Did he ask you if you wanted to?” the other said. “No! He told you to. Put the bread and the cheese in the bag, before we have to do anything you’ll regret.”

“Hey!” Callem shouted, dropping his own bags. “What’s going on here?”

The two men looked at each other and started laughing. “What the hell is this? A little boy who thinks he’s going to protect this old hag?” the rat faced man said. 

“Yeah, what is this your grandma? Are we taking your cheese?” the larger man said tauntingly. 

“You better get out of here, right now,” Callem said trying to sound threatening, yet remain calm at the same time.

“Yeah? And what are you going to do if we don’t?” The rat-faced man says while chuckling. 

The two men and Callem stare at each other trying to intimidate the other. Then the large man shrugs and says, “Fine, we’ll go.” He starts to turn, but turns back and punches Callem in the side of the head. Callem falls to his side with a thud and a gasp for air. He stands back up with a streak of blood coming out of his nose and another down the side of his head. The large man swings his hand again, but this time Callem is ready. 

He ducks under the large meaty arm and punches the man in the gut. This plus the missing punch makes the man lose balance and fall to the ground. The other man lunges at Callem but he tucks himself in to a ball and throws his body at the man’s legs while he grabs for where Callem’s neck used to be. The man flies forward and face plants into the ground. 

As Callem stands up again, the large man is already up and swings his arm at Callem who dodges it, and then picks up a metal bucket from a nearby market stand and whacks the man on the side of the head with it. This makes the man fall to the ground again and stay there dazed for a while.

The rat faced man then pulls the larger man to his feet with great struggle and says in a great rush, “What the hell, is this kid a demon or something? Let’s get out of here.”

“We’ll be back for you, you swine!” The larger man mumbles through the blood in his mouth. 

“I’ll be waiting,” Callem says almost in a whisper.

Callem looks at the old woman and says a little stronger this time, “Are you alright?”

“Oh yes! Thank you young man! Thank you!” the old woman said in exasperation. “Here please take this loaf of bread!” 

“No ma’am, I fought them so that they wouldn’t take it from you in the first place,” Callem said with a smile.

“Please, I insist!”

“Thank you, but I can’t take a whole loaf.”

“Then here,” the woman says while taking the bread and breaking it in half. “At least take this.”

Callem considers refusing again, but decides to accept it; half because he believes that she won’t take no for an answer, and half because they are out of bread back home. “Thank you very much ma’am.”

The woman smiles and shouts many praises to Callem while he heads home.

 

***

 

Aris wakes up about an hour before Zana. Zana wakes up at about noon. Callem and Aris have made something for lunch, as they often do for Zana. They had a stew made of plants and nuts they found in the forest, a deer that Aris shot with a magical fireball in the forest, and salt that they had left over from last night’s potion. They also ate the bread that Callem got from the old woman.

“Where did the bread come from?” Zana said suspiciously.  
“I bought it when I was in town this morning,” Callem said trying to hide the fact that he got into a fight at the market place.

Zana had a knack for knowing if someone is lying, and he saw right through Callem’s horrible lie. “You don’t have enough money to buy the eggs, butter, flour AND bread,” Zana said with a scowl. “Now I’ll ask you again, where did the bread come from?”

Callem already told Aris what happened because they tell each other everything. He ponders lying again, but knows it will be futile. “These two men were trying to rob this old woman, I stopped them, and she gave me the bread for helping her,” Callem said finally. 

“How could you be so stupid? So I’m guessing that’s where you got the giant gash on your head that you are miserably trying to hide?” Zana said quite calmly. This annoys Callem, he prefers when Zana yells. When he yells it usually means that he is mostly just worried about him. This time, he said it in the way that means he is truly disappointed in Callem and his actions.

“Well what was I supposed to do? Let them take her food and possibly her money too?” Callem almost yells at Zana. Aris is quietly sitting at the side of the table trying not to have himself dragged into the argument. 

“Yes, you should have just kept your big mouth shut!” Zana is yelling now, which eases Callem. “You know that these ruffians don’t take offenses like this lightly, you could have been killed!” Zana says finally looking up from his stew. 

Callem looks at Zana, then at Aris who is still trying to stay out of it, and then down to his stew. “I’m sorry,” he says genuinely with shame.   
“No!” Aris shouted while standing. 

“What?” Callem and Zana say together in shock. 

“He shouldn’t be sorry!” Aris is staring straight at Zana with a face of anger that he rarely uses. “He was defending that woman and that was the right thing to do!”

“He could have been killed,” Zana says, still shocked my Aris’s outburst.

“I don’t care! You should always stand up for others if they are in need of it! Even if it puts you in danger!” Aris’s face is burning red. “If it were me there, I hope I would have had the courage to stand up to those men.”

“Aris, it’s okay,” Callem says trying to calm his friend.

“No! Its not okay!” Aris’s voice starts to crack and tears appear in his eyes. “You should not have to apologize for this!” Aris now has tears running down his face. 

“Aris! Control yourself!” Zana says in a voice neither of the boys have heard before, pure anger and frustration.

Aris grabs his cloak and the tomes sitting next to it and leaves without another word. “Aris!” Callem hollers while putting his cloak on. “Aris!” Callem follows Aris out of the house and into the woods. Aris walks straight down the path to their spot. Callem is jogging to catch up. “Aris!” Callem tries again. Still no answer from Aris. 

Callem catches up to Aris, but Aris still says nothing. He remains quiet until they reach their spot.

Aris throws the tomes and his cloak down next to the pond. He stomps down to the center of the clearing. Callem stays back by the pond. “I hate this! I hate this Callem! I hate it, I hate it, I hate it!!!” Aris shouts, almost screams while throwing his fists around.

“What do you hate?” Callem asks slightly confused.

Aris is still crying and is pacing in a small circle with his hands on his head. “I hate how there is no justice in this town!” he says a little quieter this time. “I hate how we constantly have crime here and nobody does anything about it! There are constant break-ins, and robberies, and beatings. Someone even stole from Zana’s apothecary. It just feels like everyone in this town is just looking out for themselves and the minute someone does something for someone else, they get scolded for discouraged. I hate it here. I wish that we could just go away. I wish that we could just get our stuff and leave here, just the two of us. No Zana, no brigands, no people who burn magic wielders at the steak.”

Callem knew that Aris didn’t like the town very much, but he didn’t know he hated it this badly. “We will, Aris. When we both are eighteen and are old enough to travel on our own, we will. But for now, we’re both just kids. We don’t have any money. We have almost nothing. We can’t leave, not yet.” Callem is trying to stay as calm as he can.

“I know,” Aris is speaking softly now. “I just don’t like it here.” Aris now sits on the ground.

“I know…” Callem says sitting next to his best friend. 

They stay there for hours. Just sitting there. They both eventually fall asleep.

***

The two woke with a jump when they heard the loud crack in the distance. It was dark out and the moon was visible between the branches. The boys had slept through most of the day. The noise was followed with a blend of hollering and screaming. There were more crashes and bangs, followed by screams when the two boys stood up almost hopping to their feet.

“What is that?!” Aris exclaimed while looking around. 

“I don’t know,” Callem replied in a daze. “It sounds like it’s coming from the village.”

“Let’s go,” Aris said quickly while throwing on his cloak and shoving the tomes into the pockets. Aris and Callem began to run through the forest, past their house and down the road to the village.   
They were just outside of the market place when they see what was causing the commotion. The town was ablaze, buildings were collapsing, and people were running in every direction. There were men with axes and swords chasing the women and children, and killing the men. 

“What is this? What’s happening?” Aris was asking in shock, not particularly talking to Callem but he answered anyways. 

“The town is being attacked,” Callem said surprisingly calmly. “By bandits.” Callem thought back to earlier that day when the men threatened to come back for him. “And I think I know why.” They had come back, but with others.

“What should we do?” Aris asked, now understanding what Callem was implying. 

Callem sat watching the fire for a moment, then came to the decision he knew he had to make. He thought back and thought of the argument with Zana. He thought of what Zana would do without them. He thought about Aris fighting for his life with his sword. He thought of all of the things that could go wrong. He knew what he had to do.  
“We have to protect them.”

Aris nodded in agreement. Aris knew it was what had to be done. The boys started running back to their house. Both were thinking of their possible deaths. But it did not hinder their want to protect the people and do what was right. 

They arrived at the house and threw the door open. Zana was not home, they could tell because the fire had gone out. The two boys grabbed their swords. Callem ran into their room and ripped the floorboards out from under the hay. He took the large piece of metal and unwrapped it from its cloth. He looked at his father’s sword. He removed it from its sheath and stared at the emblem on the hilt. He stared at the feather and the moon and the flame. He saw his father in the sword. He saw all of the days he spent with his father. He saw his father’s kindness and thought of what his father would do. He knew his father would have fought for the people. 

The two boys ran back to town. Aris had his sword out and at the ready, Callem held his father’s sword in his hand and was ready for what was to come. 

“Stay behind me, Aris,” Callem said staring straight ahead. “Do not get into a fight unless you absolutely have to. You aren’t ready for this many fights,” Callem looked around at the mass of men swinging their axes and swords. He saw a few other men from the town with weapons, but they were all older and unfit. Callem knew that he needed to try to protect them as well. 

Callem charged forward, thrusting his sword forward at a man who was standing over an old woman with blood coming from her side. The man fell dead to his side. Callem had pierced his heart. Callem felt guilt, stress, shame, anxiety, dread, pride, and a sense of accomplishment all at the same time. He had never killed anyone before.   
He shook his head, awaking from his daze and charged at two other men. He swung his sword at the neck of one and the shoulder of another. The first man died, the second one fell to the ground with blood rushing from his shoulder. 

A bandit was charging at Callem. He swung his axe for Callem’s head. Callem was startled at first and jumped slightly too late. The axe made a small gash in Callem’s right arm. Luckily, Callem fights with his left arm. He got up as the man swung at him again. This time, Callem stepped to the other side and pierced the man in the side with his sword.

Callem looked over at Aris. A man with a hatchet was standing over Aris, who had a cut on the side of his face. The man lifted his axe and swung down. Aris was able to block it with his sword, but the axe kept going down and hit Aris in the right arm. Aris was right handed. 

“AAAHH!!” Aris screamed as blood rushed from the new wound. The man picked up the axe and swung down again. This time, Callem stopped him and as the man looked up, Callem swung his sword and slit the man’s throat. 

“ARIS!” Callem dropped the sword and ripped a piece of cloth from his shirt. He wrapped it around Aris’s arm. “Are you alright?!”

“I…” Aris said in a daze. “I’ll be fine. Just … help the others.” Callem nodded and ran into the crowd of men and women and children. 

Aris was able to move his arm, but he was not strong enough to swing a sword. He felt something sitting on his side. He didn’t see anything on top of him. Then he remembered the tomes he had brought to the forest.

“HEEELP!!!” Aris sat up and quickly looked around. “Someone help me!” He saw the young girl screaming as a man stood over her.   
“No one will help you now,” the man said while putting away his axe. He grabbed for the young girl who was struggling to get free on the ground. Aris stood up without thinking. He ripped the amulet from his neck, breaking the chain. His eyes turned to gold, his hair spiked and turned white, his ears pointed out as natural. He opened the tome, and only thinking of the girl, shot a bolt of lightning from his hand. It struck the man in the back and spread through his body. He collapsed on the ground twitching. 

“Aris!” Callem shouted at him from the other side of a building. Aris thought Callem was going to scold him for using his magic. He knew he was. But Callem said something else. “It’s Zana! Over here!”

Aris’s heart dropped as he ran towards Callem. Zana was sitting in front of the grain mill. He was pale and had a large wound in his stomach. “Zana!” Aris was on his knees crying now, putting his arms around Zana and burying his face in Zana’s chest. 

“What are you two doing here?” Zana said in a whisper.

“We were protecting the village,” Callem said calmly, with a small catch in his voice.

Zana looked at both of the boys. “Foolish boys. My foolish, brave, strong boys.” Zana gave a smile and had a glimmer in his eye, but almost instantaneously his smile left and his head fell back. His body remained for a moment and then disappeared in a cloud of mist, as all magical creatures do when they lose their life. Aris and Callem stood there not saying anything for a minute. Then they remembered the fight. 

“We don’t stand a chance against all of them,” Callem said staring at the mass of bandits. 

“No we don’t,” Callem replied. “But we have to try.” Callem looked over at Aris who was now standing. Aris nodded and the two exchanged a smile. They smiled as if saying that they had appreciated the other, that they were best friends, that they loved each other, that they were brothers. They smiled as if saying goodbye. 

Then, they heard a large thundering noise; they looked around to see what it was. Then they saw it. It was a group of men on horses. They were armed. They carried the flag of Kato. It was the Katon royal Guard.

“Then again, maybe we do,” Aris said and looked over at his brother. They exchanged a new smile. A smile saying that they would see each other soon. They charged into the crowd again. There weren’t many bandits left however, the royal guard had made quick work of them. 

Once everything calmed down, Aris and Callem met up at a building in the center of the ruins. Town’s people had started to approach them. They had faces of anger and hatred. “A magician! He has magic! He is wicked and cursed!” 

The town’s people started hissing and screaming at Aris. “He has been fooling us all along! He is one of them!”

“Leave here now, you evil demon!”

“And he was living with him!”

“He’s a friend to it!”

“Kill it!”

“Hang him!”

“Hang them both!”

After hearing the commotion, the royal guard came about to see what was wrong. “What in hell is going on now?!”

“He is evil! He will use his dark magic to kill us and control us!”

“If I recall, he was one of the people helping all of you!” Callem exclaimed looking at all of the angry people. 

“Silence young man!” the captain hollered. “If the people do not want him here then…” He stopped as he looked at Callem. “That sword. Where did you get that sword?” the captain seemed to be completely distracted. 

“What?” Callem asked in confusion.

“That sword, with that emblem. Where did you get it?!” He asked now seeming to be getting angry that Callem was not answering.

“It was my father’s,” Callem said more confused than ever. The man recognized his sword? His father’s sword? Did he know his father? Did he know who his father was? Did he know his mother? “Who are you and what do you want?”

“Come with me,” the man said with wide eyes and in a serious tone. “You need to come with me, and bring your friend.”

“What? What do you want? Where are you taking me?” Callem was more confused than ever.

“To see your mother,” the man finally replied.

Callem was so shocked that he didn’t even notice a man was trying to pull him onto a horse. Callem got on without thinking. Aris got onto another horse. Callem wasn’t thinking of anything. He didn’t care. He didn’t think if they were lying, or if they were actually royal guards, or if he was actually a captain. All he could think about was his mother.


End file.
